The Writing Fellows Program offers support for faculty members as they work with the student-writers in their courses and helps build the wider culture of writing on campus. Fellows are experienced teachers of writing at the college level who:

work with faculty as they compose assignments and other course materials, develop class activities involving writing, and respond to students' written work

appear in classes to address specific issues connected to writing and assist with in-class writing activities

work one-on-one with individual students at the request of faculty members

help departments develop materials connected to writing (from common assignments to course or department style guides)

consult (as time permits) with faculty on their own writing projects, both pedagogical and scholarly

Fellows also offer regular workshops for faculty each semester, maintain an ongoing faculty writers group, and coordinate special campus events and initiatives connected to writing.

The Writing Fellows assigned to each school or college are:

School of Business

Melissa Webb holds a B.A. in Theatre from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, a B.A. in Creative Writing from SUNY Oswego, and an M.S. in English Education from SUNY Oswego. She teaches Developmental and First-Year Writing and writes both short fiction and plays. Her research includes using digital and self-created formats and images to enhance student connections to writing. As a Writing Fellow, she has taken a special interest in collaborative writing projects in business.

School of Communication, Media and the Arts

Stephanie Pritchard received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Anthropology from SUNY Oswego in 2008 and an M.F.A. in Poetry from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2011. A recipient of the Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2016, Stephanie teaches First-Year Writing and Poetry. In addition to serving as the Writing Fellow for SCMA, she is also Co-Director for The Creativity Lab and the liaison of the English and Creative Writing Department's courses for the New Visions Program. As a Writing Fellow, Stephanie holds an informal faculty writing group, organizes an annual "Professors, Poems, and Prose" public reading, frequently visits classes to deliver presentations or workshops about writing, and enjoys consulting with both students and faculty about their writing projects.

School of Education

Judith Belt holds a B.S. and an M.A. with concentrations in English and Business Communication from Murray State University, in Kentucky. She has worked with high school students, college students, and adult learners. Judith's writing is primarily technical in nature. She frequently works as a consultant for professional organizations, writing, researching, and editing white papers and reports as well as conducting workshops for business, industry, and education. Primary interests include women in the workplace, STEM education, and sustainability. She currently teaches Technical Writing and Literacy and Technology and Civilization.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Tony Caputa is a fictionist and essayist who has taught First-Year Writing and Literature courses for a number of colleges throughout upstate New York. He holds a dual-major B.A. in Public Justice and English from SUNY Oswego, an M.A. in Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing from SUNY Binghamton, and an M.F.A. in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. As a composition teacher, Tony has enjoyed working with underrepresented students for many years, and he invites colleagues to use his services as a Writing Fellow to assist those students who would benefit from one-on-one attention with writing assignments.

Kenneth Nichols received a B.A. in English from SUNY Oswego in 2004 and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Ohio State in 2010. He also attended the Dramatic Writing Conservatory at SUNY Purchase. His fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in a wide range of publications, including Anthropology and Humanism, Main Street Rag, Literary Orphans, Skeptical Inquirer, and PopMatters, and he maintains the writing craft website Great Writers Steal. He has taught First-Year Writing, Screenwriting, Playwriting, and Public Speaking. Special interests include producing audio/video content, theories of structure in writing, and helping students develop critical thinking skills. As a Fellow, he specializes in working closely with students and faculty to help them develop professional websites.

Schedule an appointment

Appointments can be scheduled directly with Writing Fellows by email — just click on the links above.

Some Suggestions for Working with Fellows

1. Let us know what you're hoping for

When inviting a Fellow to address one of your classes, we think you'll get the best results if you focus your request. Fellows can address a great range of topics — from citation issues to process considerations to grammar to general pep talks on the importance of writing in college and professional life. But we recommend that you request a talk on "fragments and comma splices" or on "strategies for quoting effectively" rather than on something very general like "grammar" or "citation." Make sure you let the Fellow you consult know what you're hoping he or she can accomplish, and expect him or her to invite you to have a conversation beforehand to make this clear.

2. Moderate expectations

Be realistic about how much a Fellow can accomplish in a single session. Fellows can't cure your writers of all the ills you see in their work at once, especially with respect to grammar. But we're happy to come back more than once to talk about issues you think need attention.

3. Be there

Please plan on being present when a Fellow addresses your class — and in fact, we'd love it if you jumped in during discussion should you have anything to add. We find that sessions are much more effective if faculty are part of the conversation.

4. Understand the limits on Fellows' time

We love working with faculty writers whenever we can, though please recognize that we give priority to work that directly affects classes and student experience. Also, be advised when requesting this kind of consultation that Fellows aren't expert readers in specific fields: they may very well not know the disciplinary conventions that govern your work or much of the language that appears in it. That said, feel free to contact us if you have manuscripts you need advice about or that you'd simply like to have a second set of eyes on.